This kit represents a 1973 version of one of BMW’s flagship cars. It builds a curbside and is left-hand drive only, with 106 parts and more than a half-dozen extras.

Four rubber-like tires with tread detail similar to vintage Michelins, are included with poly caps to mount the wheels to the chassis.

Self-adhesive chrome Mylar transfers for mirror faces and other bright finish items are included, while the decal sheet has all the little badges and many options for things like gauges and radio faces. There are multiple choices for the exterior graphics. Some decals will benefit from a small amount of Tamiya Mark Fit (Strong).

Instructions are typical modern Hasegawa. Read all the way through before painting, to not overlook holes to open or dimples to fill.

There are only two or three colors that would be correct; white or silver and possibly a light metallic turquoise.

Since the kit provides the window trim as decals and the silver pieces are printed as metallic silver, white was the best option for more contrast, and I used Tamiya (TS-26) pure white over a fine white primer base.

Quality of the molding is good, with mold lines on the body faint, well-placed and easy to clean. Several delicate parts require extra care when removing from the sprues and prepping for install.

Most pieces are for the belt-line chrome trim that runs around the entire body. My sample had one piece broken, which I repaired and used foil on after painting to revive its chrome look.

Small tabs molded onto many of the chrome pieces must be trimmed, as some are almost the size of the parts, such as on the wheel center caps.

I was concerned the strips fit so snugly before any paint was applied to the body that it might lead to breakage or poor fitting.

To make the strips fit easier, I sanded the groove in the body with a fresh piece of 400-grit folded in half, using the folded spine as the cutting side. After the body paint dried, I installed the trim one piece at a time, first with the mentioned repaired one which was finished with a patch of Bare-Metal foil to hide the missing chrome spot.

Window frame decals fit, making a tedious task manageable. Instructions call for that trim to be painted during the assembly steps and could be skipped. Only the inside edge of the rear quarter windows needs to be painted silver, but instead I hand-painted all the trim on the inside edges so if the decals didn’t fully cover the areas, they’d already be the proper color.

I applied the decals, letting each one dry before applying the next. A stronger decal solvent was needed to get most of the window frame decals to conform fully. It took a little longer to decal the frames than to hand-paint, but the results are worth it.

The rest of the decals were applied mostly as directed, but I used a few of the optional one’s to match photos I found online. To change things up, I dug a pair of appropriate California plate decals from my stash and thew those on.

Even with the stress of the chrome trim it was a very enjoyable kit to build and really captures the real car. It is a recommendable kit.